


Ripples in the Water

by FacelessBee



Category: Ranma 1/2, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-10-13 11:06:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FacelessBee/pseuds/FacelessBee
Summary: (A plot bunny that is still under construction. Title and summary still under consideration.)In a world of heroes and villains, where strange and unusual powers are the norm, being labeled Quirkless is the greatest danger one could face.Inko was desperate to give her son a future, and in doing so she changes the course of the world.Izuku was just happy to have a Quirk now, even if it was inconvenient and not really made for hero work, they would still become a Hero!





	1. A pebble

Inko Midoriya was worried. Of course, as the mother of a Quirkless child she always carried an undercurrent of paranoia and anxiety on her shoulders, but recently she has become scared.

Her baby was eight now, far past the time for even a ‘late bloomer’ to manifest a quirk, and with all the tests the doctors had run it was now painfully clear that Izuku was never going to express a quirk. Inko had known this the moment that the doctors had told her all those years ago that Izuku was officially Quirkless, but her baby boy had held onto that sliver of hope for so long. An Invisible Quirks was still possible; some Quirkless-adjacents still had the vestigial joints, DNA testing was never a hundred percent guarantee.

Izuku had tried to convince himself as much as he had tried to convince his own mother that there was still a chance, a one in a million chance, that he could suddenly develop a Quirk.

Inko tried to be positive for her son, never allowed herself to show the doubt she had whenever he talked about the statics or how an adult in such and such country had been found to suddenly express a Quirk after decades of Quirklessness.

She knew the statics as well as Izuku, followed the news of Quirk testing and discoveries made on Quirk Therapy. Inko also kept a close eye on the news about Quirkless ‘suicide’ rates, about unemployment and discrimination against Quirkless and Quirkless-adjacent people, and changes in the laws that favored Quirked people more and more.

All of Inko’s fears and concerns came to a head one day. Izuku had tried to hide the bruises and burns, tried to play dumb when Inko had asked about his missing bag and torn uniform, but she was his mother and her baby was so terrible about lying to her.

She had discussed withdrawing him from school before but Izuku was stubborn about attending a public school. There was a school for Quirkless children in Gifu that was said to be excellent in both secondary school preparation in addition to having multiple school councilors and physiologists for Quirkless support. The tuition was costly, but the security required for such a school made the cost of attendance understandable.

Izuku had refused to attend when Inko had brought it up though, he firmly believed that attending a school for the Quirkless would destroy any chance he had to become a Hero. While he certainly wasn’t wrong, Inko would never deny that a part of her wished so desperately that her son would see the reality of the situation and aim for a path that was more realistic.

As it stood, elementary school was not kind to her son. The clear signs of bullying made it obvious that the children were vicious in their treatment of what society labeled as a ‘disabled child’, and the teachers’ lack of communication of concerns made it clear that there would be no help from that front. Not that Izuku accepted such a thing, and Inko would never say her child was anything less than perfect as is, but society and the systems in place had other opinions.

Even the Quirkless-adjacent received better treatment, they were considered whole by the community and treated like people and not like there was something fundamentally broken with them.

This is why Inko was doing this. Researching and digging and trying to find anything that could help her baby in some way. Quirk therapy was not available for Quirkless people, Gene therapy was expensive and heavily regulated, and any other option was toeing the line of criminal activity.

It was during one of these bouts of manic research that Inko had found something. Buried in the history section of the library was a journal, a thin leather book that was scuffed and dusty and clearly forgotten. Most of the writing was either smudged or faded beyond legibility but there was a passage that remained mostly intact. This is where Inko found her answer.

‘The great Phoenix People fought… decades later remained thousands of springs… Guarded by the Amazons for fear of… Great mystical powers… changes those who … rumored to be located near the Bayankala Mountain… Jusenkyo’


	2. Spring of Drowned Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter

Inko felt her knees protest at the new and rough treatment as she and Izuku hiked along the overgrown path.

Months of research and chasing what felt like phantoms had finally paid off. Inko had found the location of the mystical springs, deep in the Bayan Har Mountains, in the Qinghai province. It was difficult to find anything about the area, and aside from the journal, Inko had not found any other sources that talked of Jusenkyo. It didn’t matter though, in the age of quirks and heroes, information gathering was simply a matter of determination and time.

Now here they were; hiking along what once had been a thin winding path, now a dusty overgrown mess with large trees acting as the only guide to lead wanderers.

Inko was proud that she had thought ahead to pack plenty of water and provisions for this hike at the last town they had stopped at. Both her and Izuku’s bags were heavy with bottles of water and dried food, along with a box of matches and a first aid kit just in case of an emergency.

It was lucky really that during their youth Mitsuki had pushed Inko to go camping with her. At least Inko knew the basics on how to properly pitch a tent and start a campfire that wouldn’t burn down the entire forest. Not that Inko expected this trip top last that long, but just in case something unexpected happened she was at least prepared.

It was also lucky for Inko that one of the older men in the town had kindly pointed her in the right direction when she had been asking about local springs. There had been an aged map near the base of the path that had also indicated that the hike should only take a few hours, but it had been so sun bleached and dirt stained that for all Inko knew this trip could take days. That along with her spotty Mandarin made communicating with the people in the town a test of patience.

At least Izuku seemed in high spirits. Looking over at a happily walking boy, Inko smiled down at her son and gave his hair a gentle ruffle.

“How are you feeling Izuku? Do you need us to rest for a few minutes?”

“No mom, I am too excited to stop!” Little Izuku was bouncing as he walked, a wide smile lighting up his face. “The Quirk Springs should be close!”

Inko’s smile slipped a little, but she continued walking after her excited son. The journal has called the place Jusnekyo, cursed springs. She couldn’t tell her son that they were going to a cursed place in the desperate attempt at giving him a chance at normality. So she hadn’t corrected Izuku when he called it the Quirk Springs. It at least sounded must nicer.

“What kind of Quirk do you think I’ll get at the springs?” Izuku looked up at his, “Do you think it’ll just give me a quirk like you or Dad’s? Or maybe I’ll be like Kacchan and get a combination of both your Quirks!”

Inko just watched as her son began to mumble as he threw out theories about the springs and what sort of Quirk he would manifest. She could only catch snippets of his furious mumbling and smiled indulgently as he fidgeted with his hands, clearly wanting to write down something but having left his journal in Inko’s bag.

Her smile dropped again as she realized that she had to be the voice of reason.

“Just remember Izuku, there is a chance that the springs won’t give you a Quirk.”

Izuku stopped his mumbling and turned back to his mom, giving her a wide-eyed look as she knelt down in front of him. He was still smiling, but it was a small, fragile thing.

“And I will love you no matter what, Quirk or not.” Ruffling her son’s wild hair and rubbing as the tears that were bubbling at the corner of her eyes, she stood and grasped Izuku’s smaller hand in her own. “Now tell me about that new hero you say had a debut last week.”

Izuku lit up and began to happily tell his mother about the newest hero debut, and even talked about his analysis of both the hero's Quirk along with the villain that had been taken down. While he still loved to watch All Might's hero debut, it was interesting and important for his future hero work to keep an eye on other active heroes and captured villains. Especially if he got a Quirk that was less suited for hero work, then he would have to train extra hard to make sure he could keep up.

The small family continued to walk for a few more hours before the path began to widen and the trees thinned. It wasn’t until the moment that they crested a steep hill in the path and were greeted by the sight of bamboo growing from a crater filled landscape that the reality hit them. They had found the springs. What was left of them.

The bamboo had clearly taken over what had once been hundreds of natural springs. It was not surprising to see, if the town at the base of the path had been any indication then this place had not seen visitors in many, many years. The fact that many of the springs appeared to be dried up was also not as shocking as it may have been even fifty years ago.

Disasters, both natural and villainous, had been shaping the climate and environment for over a century, and it was no surprise to see even isolated areas like Jusenkyo were affected by these changes. Climates became unpredictable when people were born with the ability to literally change the weather and environment on a whim.

Izuku made a noise of surprise and tugged at his mother’s hand, pulling her attention away from the overgrown craters and towards her son.

“Mom… are they all dry?” Izuku looked close to tears, his big green eyes glistening up at Inko as he tried to hide his hiccuping breath.

“Let's go check." Inko scooped up her son, even though her back very much disliked the sudden weight of the eight-year-old in her arms. "I bet there are a few that still have some water."

“But what if there isn’t?”

“Then we’ll just have to start digging ‘till we find some!”

Even as Inko said this, she knew the reality of the situation. If there were no springs, then there would be no chance of using the water to activate a Quirk in her son. Without a Quirk, things would continue to get worse. Izuku would still dream of being a hero, he would still chase after heroes in the hopes of catching a glimpse of something only he knew to look for, and worse, he would continue to be bullied and ignored until one day he would give up altogether.

Lost in her spiral of dark thoughts of what the future was sure to hold, Inko barely noticed when Izuku squirmed out from her arms and ran ahead to look around. A sudden shout from Izuku about finding a puddle in one of the craters followed by a yelp of surprise and a splash finally drew Inko’s attention back to the present.

“Izuku? Izuku!?” Inko looked around in an attempt to spot her son, only to find tall bamboo and no child in sight. “Izuku baby where are you!?”

“Here mom!” Finally came a reply from further the hill. In a rush Inko stumbled over to where she had heard her son shout; and found her baby stuck in one of the caters, soaking wet and standing in what looked to be a little less than a meter of water. “I found some water mom, but I fell in.”

“Oh Izuku, thank god you’re okay!” Inko fell to her knees next to the crater, dirt crumbling and dirtying her pants. “Hold on and let me get some rope, I’ll get you out of there soon.”

“Okay, mom!" Izuku waved up to show he was fine while trying to activate whatever quirk he was sure the water gave him. He didn't feel really different, just wet and cold, but maybe it would take a few minutes for his new Quirk to activate.

Just as Inko has promised, she had a rope tied to one of the large bamboo shoots and the other end tossed to Izuku within minutes. It was hard work for the little child, but with some help, once he was within reach of his mother he was able to climb the rope. He was pulled into his mother's arms the moment he was free from the hole and she was crying into his already soaked hair.

“Oh, Izuku you scared me! Are you okay? You're soaked to the bone!"

“I’m fine mom,” Izuku hugged his mother back as she fussed over him. Even as he tried to put on a brave face, tears started to pool in his eyes. “I- I’m fine. The water was just cold. It was just water.”

“Oh no, baby no, it’s okay.” Inko rubbed her son’s back as he began to sob in earnest. It seemed that the long shot had been just that, and now her son just had another disappointment to add to all the shit life had already given him. “Maybe- maybe it gave you an invisible Quirk! When we get back to Japan we can go to a specialist and have them test you again.”

“Excuse me, who are you and why are you here?” A new voice interrupted the sobbing mother-son duo and pulled their attention towards the person standing at the edge of the bamboo forest. “This is private property, no visitors, no exceptions.”

“Ah, uhm, gosh my Mandarin is so bad. My son and I… uhm… travel to find Quirk… this Junsekyo?”

“Ma'am your Mandarin is atrocious, please if you are more comfortable speaking Japanese then use that." The man in dark robes moved closer to the small family as he adjusted his thin glasses. "And I repeat, what are you doing here?"

“Oh thank heavens.” Inko signed as she turned to address the man with a shallow bow. “I am sorry for the intrusion, we just came here after hearing that the springs here granted Quirks to those who came here.”

“I doubt that very much.” The man continued to stare at the plump woman, waiting for a better answer.

“No, I am telling you the truth. I found a book that talked of this place, Jusenkyo the place of a thousand cursed springs. My son, he is Quirkless but I thought that if he came here then maybe one of the springs would grant him a Quirk.”

“You brought your son to a place that is called ‘cursed' in the hopes he would gain a Quirk… ma'am, are you _stupid_?”

“HEY! My mom’s the best!” Izuku moved to stand between his mother and the strange man in defense, glaring with all the fury of a wet kitten.

“Kid you’re lucky that you fell in Nyannīchuan instead of any of the other few remaining springs. Trust me, being a girl is much better than an octopus.”

“Wha- what do you mean girl?” Inko asked as she pulled her son back to her side.

“Foolish woman: you came to the cursed springs, your son fell into the water, he is now cursed. Congratulations, you now have a son who will turn into a girl every time he is splashed with cold water.”

With that, Inko did as any respectable mother would in this situation. She fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter and I actually have a vague idea of where I am going with this story so yeah. Things will be slow for the first 10-20 chapters I think, just cause this story will have shorter chapters.
> 
> Anyways, I will be using a bastard amalgamation of English with some Chinese terms and Japanese terms mixed into the story to keep things 'fun'.


	3. Enter the Amazon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings this chapter

Izuku sipped at the tea that the strange man from the springs had offered. Sitting at the low table near the couch that his still unconscious mother was resting on, Izuku tried to keep an eye on the man as he bustled around the attached kitchen. His mother always warned about the ‘stranger danger’, but the man seemed nice.

The man had introduced himself as Lychee and while helping carry Inko to his small house past the valley explained why he lived there. He was the Jusenkyo Guide, capitals in the title clearly implied, and thus it was his job to keep an eye on the springs and make sure that anyone who showed up knew the dangers posed by the cursed waters. When Izuku tried to press for more information, Lychee had told the boy that he would have to wait for his mother to wake.

So now here he was, sitting in a strangers house, drinking a cooling cup of tea, and waiting for his mother to wake.

Fidgeting with the pretty ceramic cup in front of him and moving his weight from one leg to the other, Izuku realized he had to use the restroom.

“Uhm, Mister Lychee, do you have a bathroom?” Izuku moved towards the kitchen and waited for a reply.

“Yeah kid, down the hall, first door on the left.” Lychee pointed the ladle in his hands in the general direction he was describing.

“Thank you," Izuku called back as he quickly walked to the door he had been directed towards.

It was only a minute later that a shriek pierced the otherwise sedate house, shocking Lychee enough that he practically threw the pan off his stove and into the ceiling and causing Inko to shoot up from the sofa.

“IZUKU!” Inko yelled in surprise and she looked around for her son and only finding unfamiliar surroundings.

“MOM!” Izuku burst from the restroom, and ran straight to his mother, throwing himself into her arms as he shrieked and tried to form a sentence. “It’s missing! I gotta pee and it’s missing!”

Inko blinked in shock as she tried to process what exactly her son was saying. “W-what is missing?”

“My penis!”

“… oh," Inko replied as her brain tried to process a response. "OH!"

“I told you earlier.” Lychee appeared from the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room. “You’re in the body of a girl right now, at least until we get some hot water for you.”

“Wha- hot water?” Izuku pulled away from his mother’s arms as he looked at their host in curiosity.

“Yeah, give me a minute kid." and with that, the man turned back into the kitchen.

The sound of water filling a cup and then a microwave turning on filled the awkward silence. A ding and Lychee walked into the living room with a mug of steaming water. Without much of a warning, he dumped the contents over the head of curly green hair.

‘YAAA! HOT!" Izuku yelped in shock and instinctively tried to punch at the man, only to have his little fists deflected and dodged with a surprising amount of grace. It wasn't until his mother pulled him away and onto the sofa with her that he realized Lychee hadn't even dropped the mug in his hands.

“Jeez kid, I was just helping you. No need for the temper.” With a lackadaisical shrug, the man moved to sit at the low table and place the empty mug down. “Now, seeing as you are both awake and alert I can finally explain just how idiotic you were.”

Pushing up his thin glasses and moving to tuck a stray strand of brown hair out of his face, the Guide tucked his hands into the voluminous sleeves of his robes and began his tale.

“Long ago Jusenkyo was known as the greatest training ground for any aspiring martial artist. Those who would come to these cursed grounds would either leave never knowing the fate they had escaped, or suffer the cruelest of defeats. This was long ago, before Quirks and preternatural powers had become normal; back when the pinnacle of mortal power was used solely by those trained in martial arts. But times changed, and so did the limits of mortal men and the springs faded from the memory of even the greatest master. Curses are jokes to the modern man, science and Quirks are the only power that people respect anymore and so this place became forgotten."

Lychee paused to look at the two green-haired people on his sofa. The mother clearly doubted what he was saying, but her son was staring at Lychee with eyes glittering with an unnerving light. Taking a deep breath, the man continued with his explanation.

“Most of the springs have dried up, by the time I took the mantel as ‘Guide’ only a dozen or so springs remained deep enough to effect a person, but it is still my duty to guide visitors and prevent tragedies like that which has fallen your son.”

“You called the spring I fell in Nyannīchuan...”

“Yes, Spring of Drowned Girl; it is the pool where over 1600 years ago a young girl drowned in the waters and the spring imprinted upon her form, cursing any who fall in to take the form of a girl when splashed with cold water.”

“That’s impossible!” Inko smacked her hand on the table as she pulled a shaking Izuku closer to her side. “People don’t just change like that.”

“There are people who can literally grow to the size of mountains and breath tsunamis into existence, yet you doubt the possibility of the cursed springs.”

“Those are Quirks! Powers people are born with and part of natural human evolution, this, changing shape due to exposure to water, this isn’t a Quirk. It isn’t natural!”

“EXACTLY!” Lychee stood abruptly and slammed the table so hard that the cups rattled and threatened to spill. “You came here, unknowing and blind to the danger and now your son must live with the consequences of your reckless behavior!”

Perhaps the argument would have continued like this, the adults screaming back and forth slinging blame like mud. Maybe Inko would have stormed out, dragging Izuku with her and suppressing this entire incident from their life, hiding her son's sudden change and attempting to live as if nothing had changed. Or maybe, Lychee would have taken Izuku from his mother, hidden the child away to be raised by one of the locals and away from Quirks and heroes. But neither of these happened, instead, the front door was suddenly slammed open and a boisterous voice rang throughout the small house.

**“BABE! I’m HOOO-** ome **, who are they?”**

In the doorway stood a titan of a woman, bright pink eyes darting between the cringing man and the two green-haired people in the room. A single scar cutting from her forehead and across her nose, making for an intimidating visage, though the large bun of dark purple hair that was barely held together on top her head did wonders to make the woman seem more youthful.

**“Ah, Bra. Welcome home love, I was just… dealing with some Jusenkyo business.”**

**“Oh, wow I forgot there were even still springs with water there. So what was it?”** The intimidating woman towered down at the nervous mother-son duo with a grin plastered across her face. **“Was it the tiger pool? Oh was it the child pool?! OH MAN, WAS IT THE OCTOPUS POOL?!”**

**“Love, please, you are scaring the gues** ts.”

Bra paused and looked between her exasperated husband and the shaking family on the sofa.

**“Oh shit, sorry, sorry. Wait do they understand what I’m saying?”**

**“I doubt it, they are from Japan I believe, but the mother’s Mandarin is shaky at best.”**

“Please, could you two speak Japanese.” Inko was nervous but put on a brave face as she kept Izuku close. “I don’t really understand what you’re saying.”

“Yes,” Lychee nodded at his wife as she sat next to him at the table. “Sorry, very rude of us. This is my wife, Bra. She doesn’t speak Japanese very well, so I’m afraid it is unlikely you will be able to actually speak with her.”

**“Babe don’t be rude!”** Bra smacked at her husband’s shoulder with a calloused palm, causing the slight man to sway from the sudden contact. **“You can use your Quirk and make this easier for everyone!”**

“Hmm.” Lychee did not appear happy at his wife’s suggestion.

"D-did she say, Quirk? You have a Quirk?" Inko looked between the strange couple with curious eyes.

“Yes. My Quirk is Clear Speak. It lets me remove language barriers temporarily. If I have your permission I can use it to make this… situation resolve itself quicker.”

“Of course, whatever makes this easier.”

“Wonderful” Lychee nodded to Inko and then interlocked his fingers into a cradle the pads of his thumbs touching and creating a circular shape where his thumbs and index fingers sat.. As he closed his eyes and translucence bubble formed around the group, simmering a vaguely golden hue, the same shade as the man’s eyes.

“Ah babe, you’re so cool!” Bra smiled at her husband and then looked back at the guests. “He won’t be able to respond as long as he holds up the bubble, but I can talk enough for the two of us!”

“Ah. You are certainly… enthusiastic.”

“YEAH! Great-Grandmother says I’m the loudest warrior in the village!”

“I-is that your Quirk?” Izuku finally spoke up, peeking around his mother’s arms to look up at the giant woman that looked almost as big as All Might. “A noise Quirk?”

“HAH! I am a Warrior, I don’t have a Quirk. That’s cheating you know, fighting with a Quirk. No, my husband here is the only tribe member with a Quirk, and he married in so it doesn’t even count!”

“A- a tribe of Quirkless people!” Izuku bounced in excitement at the idea, wiggling out of his mothers grasp as he bounded over to the giant woman with stars in his eyes. “And you’re warriors!? Are you a Hero Group!? Do you fight villains without Quirks? How haven’t I heard of you before!?”

"Woah little guy, take a breath for me," Bra smiled even as she said this, and proceeded to lift the eight-year-old with just one arm and seat him on her shoulder. "And to answer your questions; of course we are warriors! We are the Joketsuzoku! A tribe of the best fighters in the wor-"

The rest of Bra’s sentence scrambled into Mandarin as the yellow bubble that had been surrounding them popped.

**“Love, these are outsiders.”** Lychee opened his cat-like eyes and glared at his still rambling wife. One of them had to be the responsible one in the relationship, and it seemed it wouldn’t be the woman that could easily snap a man over her knee.

Not that this stopped either the Amazonian woman nor the excited child on her shoulder. Even with the language barrier the two were talking a mile a minute at each other. Bra was describing the village and the people who lived there, while Izuku chattered about the different heroes that had come from China and even a few notable villains that had risen to power here.

Inko for her part watched in stunned silence as her son practically glowed while talking at the strange woman that dwarfed him. Quirkless people, an entire village of them. Proud warriors and fighters who were Quirkless and proud to be.

Maybe this trip hadn’t been such a bad thing after all.

Suddenly Izuku stopped talking and looked at his mom. Embarrassment coloring his face as he shyly tried to wiggle from his perch.

“I still gotta go to the bathroom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hello again. Meet Bra and Lychee, my lovely OCs that will be pretty important to the story and also are an adorable couple who are honestly just trying their best.
> 
> Not much action or story movement this chapter but eh, it was fun to write. Also sticking to the naming style of Chinese characters in Ranma 1/2 is kinda hard. Like it is either a beauty product, a spice, or a fruit; but also kinda makes sense when written with characters as well. I only know weeb Japanese so... yeah.


	4. Dumpling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Gender uncertainty?

Inko was relieved when their host had been kind enough to allow them to stay the night. It was more of Bra’s very loud and enthusiastic goading that convinced Lychee to let Inko and her son stay in the guest room, but he still put out a clean set of sheets for the family to share on the small bed. It was certainly better than trying to camp for the night after such an exciting day.

It had been shocking to learn that her son… quasi-daughter… _child_ was now cursed, but Izuku had been more than happy to claim that it was now his Quirk; even going so far as to give the Quirk a proper name. Gender Fluid, a rather clever pun if Izuku’s proud smile had been any indication. Already he had filled a page in the notebook he had packed with details about the curse: how it activated, the visible difference between the two forms, which seeing as Izuku was still a prepubescent child was very few, and possible uses for such a ‘Quirk’.

Pulling her sleeping child close, Inko smiled as she nuzzled into Izuku’s hair. It was still damp from the bath earlier, where Izuku had spent a solid ten minutes just testing how hot and how cold the water had to be to activate his new ‘Quirk’. The experiment had been inconclusive in so far as Inko had put a stop to the testing when it was clear that Izuku had become frustrated at a lack of consistent outcomes.

Closing her eyes, Inko hummed as she began to fall asleep. This trip really had been for the best, and even if it didn’t have the result she expected, Izuku was happier than she had seen him in years. That was all the mattered.

Bra peeked in the guest room, finding the small family sleeping soundly. With a spring in her step, the amazon pulled her hair into a hasty braid as she went to her room. Lychee was already in the large western style bed, glasses perched precariously on his nose as he wrote a rather extensive looking letter.

“What’cha doing babe?”

“Writing to those lunatics at the Preservation Society. They’ll want to know about the boy and will need to keep an eye on him and his mother.”

Bra nodded in understanding as she moved to snuggle under the duvet and into her husband’s side. “It has been a long time since they’ve had to be notified about a newly cursed person.”

“Hmm, well Quirks have made it become a virtually null issue, after all, it is only the Quirkless who are affected by the springs anymore."

“So what do you think they’ll do?”

“Well… Midoriya is a child, and his mother seems to have at least some idea of the consequences of her actions. Hopefully, the Society will just ignore the Midoriyas until one of them poses a threat to Jusenkyo. At least what's left of it."

“I still can’t believe that after all these years a Quirkless outsider actually managed to get cursed.”

“It has been a long time since before I took over a Guide at least. If we're lucky then the Society will overlook my failure to prevent this as simply being inexperienced."

“I can always ask Great-Grandmother to take care of them if they start hounding you about this. It was an accident after all; you didn’t expect visitors, and certainly not one who was Quirkless.”

“Hmm, we can’t always rely on your family to fix our mistakes.”

“True," Bra shrugged and tugged at her husband's sleeve," Now c'mon and sleep, I wanna get up early tomorrow for a spar, it's been far too long."

Lychee smiled at his wife, eyes glittering with mischief. “Seems you really missed pounding me into the dirt. Didn’t get enough ass-kicking done during the tournament?”

“Ah babe, you know me so well. Now shut up and go the fuck to sleep.”

“Yes, love."

 

 

* * *

 

 

Izuku woke up early to the sounds of yelling and fighting. Shooting up from the mattress and wiggling out from under his mother’s arms, Izuku ran towards the shouting. He skidded to a halt at the sliding door and pushed it open to be greeted by the sight of their hosts fighting.

Bra was dressed in a formfitting leotard, the same color as her husband's yellow eyes, and wielding a weapon as long as she was tall. A heavy pole with a wicked looking blade attached at one end and a spear tip at the other. The blade looked sharp enough to cut through anything in its path and certainly seemed heavy if the way it kept getting buried in the hard soil was any indication.

Not that this seemed to upset Lychee, as the man was gracefully dodging his wife’s swings and even had the gall to use the pole as a launching point once as Bra took more than a second to pull the blade from the ground. He was dressed in a flowing set of green robes, the sleeves billowing around his wrists and the hem flaring around his ankles whenever he kicked out. Where his wife’s purple hair was pinned in a sloppy bun that was already giving up at life, Lychee’s brown hair was braided and pinned back in a practical manner that seemed to be holding up well.

It was a shock to Izuku when the man and woman began to speed up, their movements becoming blurs of motion until suddenly Bra had her husband pinned. Lychee’s arms were twisted behind his back, elbows locked by the wooden pole of Bra’s weapon, and his legs were trapped underneath the bulk of his wife.

“Ha, best two of three?”

“No love, I should make breakfast for our little guest over there.”

Both adults looked at a shyly waving Izuku, the boy coming out from behind the door frame where he had been trying to subtly watch the battle.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, it was just amazing to watch you two fight without Quirks! You both moved super fast and that weapon looks heavy but you were swinging it around so fast!”

“Heh,” Bra shouldered her weapon as she shyly rubbed at her nose. “I don’t understand a word he’s saying but that kid sure is cute. I feel embarrassed just looking at that face, he looks so earnest it hurts.”

“He is gushing about how cool you were.”

“AH, SO CUTE!” Bra scooped up Izuku, surprising the child into temporary silence before he started talking at the amazon. Even without a translation Bra knew that the kid was just the cutest thing.

“Yes, yes, love did you bring anything back from the village? We are low on dumplings and your aunt makes the best.”

“In the freezer, I was able to convince auntie to give me a few kilos of veggie dumplings in exchange for some repairs.”

“Wonderful, egg dumpling soup sound good for breakfast?”

“Hell yeah! What do you say, kid, dumplings for breakfast?"

Izuku looked at the woman blankly but smiled anyway and continued his one-sided discussion on heroes he had seen who used traditional weapons. There wasn't a lot of notable modern heroes who actually used weapons; most of the tools and weapons provided to heroes nowadays were capture weapons and those that enhanced their Quirks. Even then it was rare to see a more traditional weapon being used, as most battle Quirks gave the users an advantage over such things: claws made of steel, water jets that were faster than older style guns, and even limbs that could stretch and bend to avoid getting locked in holds. Even a simple gigantification Quirk would make even the sharpest blade rather obsolete.

“Wow, that kid can sure talk. What’s he even talking about babe?”

“I am not gonna play translator just so you can listen to the kid ramble.” Lychee rolled his eyes as he placed a glass of cool water in front of his wife. “And even if I did I really doubt that you could keep up with the kid, he keeps referencing people you’ve never heard of.”

“RUDE!” Came Bra’s war-cry, and Lychee’s only warning before he was tackled.

As Inko stumbled into the main room, she was greeted by the sight of her son happily eating a bowl of wonderful smelling soup as their hosts wrestled on the floor. The purple-haired woman was grinding a hand into her husband’s hair as the man kept pinching at any skin he could reach.

“Izuku, darling what’s going on?”

“I ‘unno, but I think it’s okay? They’re playing, I think, like auntie Mitsuki and uncle Masaru!”

“Ah,” Inko knew what Izuku was referring to, the play fights between Mitsuki and her husband that always devolved into Mitsuki tickling Masaru until the man started to cry.

Shrugging, as there really isn’t much she could do except wait for their hosts to finish their… game, Inko sat down next to her son and accepted the bite of dumpling he offered. At least she didn’t have to make breakfast. It seemed this trip was turning into a rather pleasant vacation after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little forward momentum, and dumplings. 
> 
> Bra is fun and I love her so much, and Lychee is so serious faced but his wife brings out the best in him. I love them so much! And Inko is such a good mom. Adults being good people makes me happy.


	5. Take a hike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No applicable warnings

“So I was thinking-” Bra started to speak, only to have her husband interrupt.

“Very dangerous.”

“HEY!” The amazon rudely pointed her chopsticks at her husband. “Shut-up, and put that bubble back up.”

“Yes dear.” Lychee sighed as he re-activated his Quirk.

“As I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted. I think might be good to introduce you two to Great-Grandmother.”

“Great-grandmother?” Inko tilted her head in question as she waited for the other woman to explain.

“Yeah, Great-Grandmother is one of the oldest women in the village and she knows a ton of stuff! She probably knows about a way to control the Jusenkyo Curse so your son doesn’t have to suffer random transformations.”

“Why would he transform at random? I thought you said it was only triggered by hot and cold water.”

“Well yeah, but part of the curse causes the person to become a water magnet.” Bra seemed far too happy explaining this than she probably should have been. “Like say if your son was planning to go out to the store and the weather predicted clear skies with no rain; half-way there it will suddenly start storming or someone will dump water out their window or a person will trip and spill their water on your son and POOF, now your daughter is stuck in wet clothes!”

“That all seems very… unlikely and very specific.”

“Yeah, but that’s the curse.” Bra shrugged and finished the last of her breakfast in a single gulp. “Great-Grandmother can explain it better, I just know about it from stories and Lychee’s lecturing.”

“Well… Izuku still has some time until summer break is over. Maybe it would be best to go see the elder and find out more information." Inko nervously chewed at a bit of egg as she looked between a glowing Bra and a starry-eyed Izuku.

“Awesome! We can head out after everyone finishes eating! It is only a couple kilometers from here, half a days walk at most. We’ll make it in time for dinner!”

“Ah… wonderful?" Inko could already feel the sweat and aches from such a long hike ahead of her. Hopefully, their hosts wouldn't set too harsh of a pace.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Inko was regretting all her life choices that had led up to this point. Her hair was sticking to her neck uncomfortably, her clothes equally as sticky and clingy, and her knees screamed at every movement.

At least Izuku seemed to be having fun, running ahead to talk at Bra and pointing at things along the path. The tall woman would then translate it for the boy to repeat. It was refreshing to see her son so enthusiastic and social; he had become so withdrawn and shy since his diagnosis. The bullying definitely hadn’t helped with his anxiety, nor hers for that matter.

Even so, it would be difficult to explain the sudden change in Izuku. Most people would probably believe it if she said it was an Invisible Quirk that was triggered by Izuku’s approaching puberty, but any doctor worth their salt would want to do tests. It was just procedure when a Quirk manifested: testing any biological changes that the Quirk may cause, what specific triggers were needed to activate the Quirk, and if any special accommodation might be needed later on for the Quirked individual.

The issue was that Izuku’s power wasn’t a Quirk, and if the doctors tried to perform any of the traditional tests then it would come out that Izuku was still Quirkless. Who knows what sort of experiments scientist would want to run on her son if they found out about the curse.

Perhaps it would be best to just leave things as is, no need to file for a change of Quirk statues if it wasn’t really a Quirk.

Inko was pulled from her darkening thoughts by a gentle nudge. Lychee was walking next to her, Izuku and Bra having run ahead while she had lagged behind.

“You seem to be thinking very hard about something. Want to share what is weighing on you?”

“Hm, it’s nothing. Just,” Inko looked towards her laughing child who was swinging on Bra’s flexing arm. “No one will believe that it’s a Quirk, will they?”

Lychee walked next to Inko in silence, contemplating the best way to answer a question that didn’t have a real solution. “Perhaps it is a good thing we are going to see the village elder. Bra doesn’t act it but she comes from a very intelligent family. If anyone could come up with a good solution to this it will be her Great-Grandmother.”

“You say she is the village elder. What does that mean?”

“Ah, well she is one of the village elders. The five eldest women of the village act as the overseers of the village: inter-village trade, marriages, apprenticeships, and celebrations are planned and approved by the elders.”

“A matriarch?”

“You could call it that, yes. Joketsuzoku is primarily a female lead village. All the best warriors are women, most of the houses and land belong to women, and the few men who choose to live in the village are either married in or the son of one of the women. It is part of the reason why the village has remained Quirkless for so long.”

“Doctor Eveneet Pawar’s theory of Y Chromosome-Quirk Inheritance?”

“You read Pawar’s theory?”

“Of course I have, my son is Quirkless. I tried everything to find a reason for it and if there were solutions.”

“Quirklessness is not an illness or disability-”

“I know that! But the rest of the world treats it like it is, and I refuse to let my only child be treated as lesser just because he happened to be born with an extra toe joint.”

“Hmm,” Lychee turned away from Inko’s burning green-eyes and focused his attention to the two walking ahead. Izuku was looking back at them, clearly having heard his mother yell and was concerned. What a good child. “I am sorry that Jusenkyo wasn’t the solution you were looking for. If it is any consolation, your son doesn’t seem too upset about this outcome.”

“I don't know if he is just in shock or if he is in denial."

“Bra is doing a wonderful job keeping him distracted. My wife might not seem it, but she is pretty good about reading moods.”

“It must be nice to have such a close marriage, and such a wonderful wife.”

“I am blessed, but you know, your son is certainly a blessing on his own. I can tell that you and he share a strong bond. Even if I disprove of your methods, I cannot fault you for only doing what you thought was best."

Inko nodded at the compliment, backhanded as it was, and straightened her shoulders before walking ahead. Leaving the man to trail behind as Inko went to walk next to her son and a laughing Bra.

Lychee observed the three ahead of him. Bra certainly seemed to already be attached to little Izuku. Not that he could blame her, the child was certainly adorable and he knew that his wife was weak when it came to cute things. While Inko was still reserved around Bra and definitely has some reservations about him, she was at least comfortable enough to let the larger woman play with her son. It helped that Izuku was more than content to hang off Bra like a lemur and talk at the amazon even without Lychee actively translating. That kid was far too sweet and was guaranteed to trigger Bra's mother-hen instincts to no end.

Not that it mattered really, they would visit the Elders, ask for advice on how to approach the issue of a Jusenkyo cursed individual running around Japan, and then the Midoriya family would be able to go back to their lives. Bra would probably insist that they share mailing information, at least to keep an eye on the family to keep the Preservation Society happy. That's what she would use as an excuse, but Lychee knew his wife well enough to know that she would want to keep an eye out on the family because she was already getting attached.

He loved that woman, but sometimes she was just too much for him. She trusted so easily and loved others with a depth that left him dizzy. That was what made her so perfect though, and he wouldn’t trade her for the world.

“HEY BABE!" Bra was waving to catch his attention, she and their guest stopped at the top of the crest in the path. "The village is right ahead, now hurry up you slow-poke!"

Lychee smiled at his glowing wife and picked up his pace to catch up with the small group. "Yes, love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izuku is a sweet baby boi, Inko is worried, and we get some minor background world building. Yay!
> 
> Next chapter will be: a lot of new, minor characters getting introduced, a huge amount of exploration of the culture of the Chinese Amazon tribe, and a character I am sure most of you are excited to see.

**Author's Note:**

> So... I now have three posted WIPs all for different Fandoms. Honestly, this plot bunny bit me hard and I had to put something up. I have almost no idea where I am even going with this but it needed to be done because 1) I need world building like air and BNHA is full of potential and 2) gender fluid Izuku.
> 
> I would love critiques on this idea and will be bouncing ideas off readers who do comment because seriously, IDK what I am doing here. Will this be a quirky (lol) comedy? A drama? Action like canon? I have absolutely no idea.


End file.
